Setting them Free
by taikopigeon
Summary: Routine is a sublime mistress for Isabella. That is, until Ben, her favorite "big brother" and mentor, tells her something that will shatter it all and force her to confront the difficult concepts of life, death, and letting go of the ones you love the most. How will she deal with these feelings in a matter of 2 weeks?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Salutations! It is I, Taikopigeon, again back from an unannounced hiatus! My apologies, things have been busy. However, I've managed to secure a few hours to ensure that I complete my various drafts. Here I present to you, my newest story. It is my hope that you will enjoy it.**

 **A/N: As usual, I do not own _Phineas and Ferb_ , they are owned by Mr. Povenmire and Mr. Marsh (and Disney)**

 **A/N: I DO own my OC's 1st. Lt. Benjamin Cho and Kristin Cruz**

 **A/N: Enjoy!**

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It was a sunny May morning at Danville High as Isabella Garcia-Shapiro made her way past the mostly empty pre-bell hallways up to the Nurse/Recruiting office where her and 1st Lieutenant Benjamin Cho, a U.S Air Force Air Liaison Officer and a close friend she affectionately referred to as "Big Brother" would have their morning chat over a nice cup of tea, as was their tradition before the start of every school day. As she reached the door of the Nurses office, where the Recruiting office was also located in a small section in the back, she saw Ben in his usual identifiable "Tiger-Stripe" patterned camouflage uniform sitting at his desk as usual. However, she felt something was off, she couldn't figure out what. As she entered the threshold of the Recruiting office, her suspicions were confirmed when she saw a sort of large, white cardboard moving box sitting squarely on his desk. The box was filled with some of Ben's personal affects he had lying around his office such as his picture frames and die-cast models of a few planes and tanks. Ben had noticed Isabella standing at the door silently and smiled.

"Are you going to come in?" he asked, motioning to the tea set on the table.

Isabella nodded as she placed her backpack on the floor at took her seat. As Ben was pouring their tea, Isabella's mind attempted to process this myriad of new information, attempting to solve the mystery that was presented in front of her. As Ben handed her the cup of steaming hot Green Tea, she still couldn't figure it out.

"So, did you get all your homework done?" Ben asked, interrupting her train of thought.

Isabella nodded, "It was easy, our little group study session had gotten it done within a minute."

Ben chuckled, "You're lucky, you've got a smart group of friends to help you with your homework. When I was your age, I had to do everything myself, knowing that it wasn't right half the time."

"Well, I wouldn't say the whole group is smart…"

The conversation continued with topics ranging from music to popular culture. As the conversation and grown silent, Isabella felt the need to satisfy the growing curiosity insider her.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" she asked.

Ben uttered a small acknowledgement as he took a sip of his tea.

"What's with the box? Are you…moving somewhere?"

Ben placed his teacup down, his brow furrowed. "Yeah…something like that."

"What does that mean?" she inquired.

"Well…" Ben began, analyzing the situation at hand.

Was there a way around the news? No, not likely, Isabella was smart enough to figure out the ploy if he threw one at her. It wasn't easy for him to come clean with it, but he felt she had every right to know the truth.

Ben sighed heavily, he had to get it just right. He dug around in his desk and took out an official looking document from the Air Force.

"I got this yesterday." He began, showing her the envelope.

"They have an assignment for me." He continued, gingerly placing the envelope and its contents back into his drawer.

Isabella's eyes began to faintly glimmer with the new hope. It wasn't bad after all.

"That's great!" she exclaimed, but upon seeing the fear and uncertainty in Ben's eyes, she was confused.

"I thought that's what you wanted?" she asked.

"It is…don't get me wrong, I didn't go through two years worth of hell to get a desk job. But…"

"But, what?" Isabella asked, the tension growing around the two.

"But…the team they've assigned me to is set to deploy to Afghanistan." He paused before continuing, "I only have two weeks left until I deploy."

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 **A/N: So? What did you think? Reviews! The next chapter will be up soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: As promised, here's the second chapter! Please, do enjoy!**

 **A/N: As usual, I do not own _Phineas and Ferb_ , they are owned by Mr. Povenmire and Mr. Marsh (and Disney)**

 **A/N: I DO own my OC's 1st. Lt. Benjamin Cho and Kristin Cruz**

 **A/N: Enjoy!**

* * *

Isabella's heart nearly dropped to the floor. _Two weeks_? That wasn't nearly enough time to do everything she wanted to do with him.

"Y…yo…you're kidding. Please tell me you're kidding." Isabella stuttered.

Ben shrugged and shook his head.

"I wish I could, sis." He answered.

"F…for how long?" she asked "How long are you going to be gone for?"

"About three to six months." He answered.

 _Three to six months?_

"Or maybe even a year." He continued.

 _ **A year!**_

Isabella couldn't believe it. One year without seeing her closest friend? One year where his life would be put at risk on a nearly daily basis? She was about to open her mouth to speak when the bell rang, interrupting her. Her thoughts swirled endlessly in a chaotic whirlpool, spinning her in an endless cycle of horribly depressing thoughts. She needed a quiet place to think. She picked up her bag and ran as quickly as she could to her homeroom, nearly knocking over a young and pretty Filipina woman, a Ms. Kristin Cruz. In addition to being the school's nurse, she was also known as Ben's High School Sweetheart as well. Kristin almost wanted to see what was wrong. However, the answer slowly dawned on her as she realized where Isabella was running from. She made her way to her office and set down her things before turning to the Recruiting office, where she found her boyfriend in his usual deep-thought pose, staring off into the distance with a blank expression on his face

"I assume she didn't take the news well?" she asked.

"Nope." he confirmed, his face unchanging.

"Should I call her back up?" she asked, rubbing his back.

He only shook his head once more. "No, it's fine… she just needs some time to process the information, that's all."

Kristin could tell this was an emotional time for her boyfriend, his family, his friends, and even herself.

"You wanna talk about it?" she asked.

"Yeah. After work?"

"Of course." Kristin smiled, giving him a quick pat on the back before returning to her desk to begin the workday. As her thoughts drifted towards her boyfriend, her mind began to brew up a concoction made up of her worse nightmares. Uncertainty and anxiety began to fill her thoughts. Would Ben really be ok out there? Was he actually going to make it home?

She was letting herself get carried away. She would have to cross that bridge when she got to it. For now, her only focus was to make sure she was doing her job and spending as much time with her boyfriend as humanly possible.

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 **A/N: So? What did you think? Reviews! Third Chapter will be in shortly!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: As promised, Chapter 3. I hope you will enjoy!**

 **A/N: As usual, I do not own _Phineas and Ferb_ , they are owned by Mr. Povenmire and Mr. Marsh (and Disney)**

 **A/N: I DO own my OC's 1st. Lt. Benjamin Cho and Kristin Cruz**

 **A/N: Enjoy!**

* * *

Isabella spent the rest of Homeroom, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd periods trying to process the news that she was just told.

However, her classes weren't making processing anything that she was told any easier. Mr. Fenton, her 5th period History teacher showed the class a documentary about the battle of Iwo Jima. The clips they showed of those wounded and bloody soldiers returning from the front lines made her physically ill. She had managed through the class on to lunch where she had continued to ruminate on her fears to the point where her awful mood was more than apparent to her group of friends.

"Is everything ok?" Baljeet asked, concerned about his friend's well being.

Isabella only shook her head as she buried her face in her hands, unwilling to show her weakness. She almost jumped when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see her crush (or "former crush" as she had described to Ben) looking at her with great concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She continued to look down at the table, unable to meet his gaze.

Though she had officially "moved on" from Phineas, not a day had passed where she hadn't thought of him. It was nice to know that he cared.

"Come on, you can tell us." Phineas encouraged, his boyish charm tempting her to break down right there in the lunchroom.

"Yeah, like my momma always says, 'it's unhealthy to keep the weight of the world on ya shoulders, it's bad for your back.'" Buford mentioned, eyeing the odd substance coming out of his sandwich.

"Though I wouldn't have put it quite like Mrs. Van Stomm did, she does have a point." Ferb added, "What's been bothering you Izzie? I promise we're all here to help."

Isabella wiped the tears from her eyes, slightly more confident that she had suppressed the lot of her emotions from her friends. She began to recount the day's events so far, concluding with the news Ben had just told her. When she finished she only saw blank stares and gawking faces.

"You're kidding." Phineas gasped, his jaw almost hanging open.

"Just like that? He's leaving?" Baljeet asked.

Isabella nodded.

"How? He had just gotten back from whatever training he was doing earlier." He continued, trying to wrap his brain around this rather illogical line of thought.

"I don't know." She shrugged, "That's all he'd tell me."

"Well, there must be something we can do, can't we?" Baljeet pressed.

"Well…I don't think there is much that we can do." Ferb interjected, bringing the attention squarely to him.

"What do you mean Ferb?" Phineas asked, curious as to his brother's line of thought.

"Well, hear me out. He is in the military. He gets his orders from some fancy general up at the Pentagon and he has to go. You've heard him Izzie, it's something that he signed up for and trained for almost 2 years to achieve. Now, I'm not saying there's nothing we can do, but really, what I'm trying to convey here is that this is something that we shouldn't really meddle with in the first place. If we were to in fact, meddle with his orders or do something to delay his departure, it would only prolong the inevitable. Plus, what friends would we be if we were to stop him from living his dreams?"

Isabella took a few minutes to mull over Ferb's words. He was right. Ben worked hard to get where he was. He had to overcome a multitude of obstacles and face a lot of his inner demons to achieve the goals he had set for himself 2 years ago. Though she absolutely detested the idea of Ben going to combat and possibly getting wounded, or worse yet, killed in action, she had to make herself realize that it was something that he wanted to do. She had always known Ben as a patriotic man. Willing to live and die for his country if need be. Who was she to tell him "no"? Who was she to deny him that freedom that he himself had fought so hard to earn the right to protect? It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to her and it certainly wasn't fair for...

"Well, then what can we do?" Baljeet asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"Support him as best as we can." Isabella muttered.

"I'm sorry?" Phineas asked, unable to catch her soft words through the chaos of the lunchroom.

"I said, 'support him as best as we can'." She repeated, raising the volume just below the quiet roar of the lunch table.

She paused as all eyes were on her. She took a deep breath and continued with her statement.

"I love Ben. He's my big brother. He's always been there for me when everything was going wrong. Not saying that the deployment orders are what's going wrong, but maybe he's afraid too. Afraid of what a deployment to Afghanistan is going to look like, afraid of not coming back. He needs people he can rely on to help him out."

When she had finished, silence had over come their table. No one dared speak as they processed what Isabella had said.

"I agree." Ferb nodded, continuing to chew on his sandwich.

"As do I." Baljeet agreed.

"I hear ya. But here's a good question. How are we going to support him?" Buford asked.

Isabella wasn't sure how to answer Buford. Sure the words she had said were inspirational and true, but how were they going to? They certainly knew nothing of what he actually did, let alone what he would be doing or where he would be going.

"I think I know." Phineas piped.

"What're you thinking Dinner Bell?" Buford asked his curiosity piqued.

"You'll see. Ferb, I know what we're doing for the next two weeks!" Phineas proclaimed.

With that, Phineas had gathered his group of friends closer to him at the table and discussed a plan that would rival if not equal some of the summer projects they had already taken on. Two weeks was a long time to make it perfect and they were going to use all of it.

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 **A/N: So? How'd you like it? Reviews! Fourth Chapter shall be en-route shortly!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello! As promised Chapter 4! Apologies if the story is not everyone's cup of tea, as it deals with a more emotional aspect of life. However, hopefully you'll enjoy reading this, as always I encourage reviews as they allow me to improve! As always, enjoy!**

 **A/N: As per usual, I DO NOT OWN _Phineas and Ferb_**

 **A/N: I DO OWN my OC's 1st. Lts. Benjamin Cho and George Stanton and Kristin Cruz**

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The two weeks until Ben was set to leave had passed by faster than he had anticipated. The amount of preparation he had to make for his replacement, the paperwork he had to turn in, the packing he had to do and the various people he had to call had almost overwhelmed him. Thankfully he had an awesome support system in the form of his family and his girlfriend keeping his head above water. Tonight marked the end of his last day as a recruiter. He had said his goodbyes and gotten a few farewell present from the sergeants and airman he had supervised for the past few months or so. It was an almost bittersweet goodbye, but he knew dwelling upon it would only make it worse. He pulled his car into the parking lot of the school and shut his car off. He opened his phone once more to read a recent text from his girlfriend urging him to get to the gym as soon as possible. No amount of asking or pleading would ever get his girlfriend to reveal the reason as to why she needed him at the gym so badly. Frustrating as it was, he figured it was best to go along with it. He exited his car and placed his cap squarely on his head as he had done so many times before and made his way to the gym.

The school was eerily quiet. Not a soul in the school. The administration office was empty, as were all of the classroom he had passed by. It seemed as if the teachers and the students had evaporated into thin air. Ben began to grow worried as he reached the entrance to the gymnasium, ever wary of his surroundings. As he stepped through the doors and on to the linoleum floors, his heart stopped as a massive crowd of students and faculty yelled,

"Surprise!"

Confused, he looked around and saw that his face was featured prominently on the projector. The words "Good Luck Ben" flashed above and below the screen with the American flag waving in the background. Students from every class sat on the bleachers, applauding his entrance. He looked to see Phineas, Ferb, Baljeet, Buford, and Isabella on stage, waving him on.

"What is this?" he asked, "Is this for me?"

Phineas nodded.

"Of course, dude. We weren't about to let you head out without a proper send off."

Phineas had ushered him more towards the microphone at the center of the stage. Trying his best to fight through the nerves he got up to the microphone and tapped on the diaphragm.

"Is this thing on?" he asked, illiciting a few chuckles from the crowd.

"Uhh…hi."

"Hi" the crowd greeted in unison.

"How's everyone doing?"

"Good"

"Uhh…I'll be honest. I don't even know where to start. This is still kind of just…shocking for me, I guess." He began, clearing his throat, "But really, from the bottom of my heart, I don't believe there are any words that will ever express my gratitude. It definitely means a lot of me after the week of just running around and stressing over different things. It means a lot to me."

Phineas waited for the crowd to finish their applause.

"Really, to thank you and to give you the proper send off that you deserve, please, enjoy this party. There are patriotic cookies and sweets courtesy of the PTA and the student council, with the support of course, of the ever faithful baking club."

With that, the students went about, grabbing sweets and punch, shaking Ben's hand and having a few words of luck. The party had generally begun to wane in the mere minutes before the school bell was to ring. Teachers hastily gathered students, to remind them of whatever tasks they had for the weekend. Ben made his way to the five up front and gave them a hearty handshake and a hug, ensuring he gave a few extra seconds to his favorite little sister.

"Really, thank you. It means a lot to me." He thanked once more, releasing himself from the hug.

"Anytime dude. So…when do you actually like…leave?" Phineas asked.

"Monday morning, 6 am."

"6 am? Talk about early."

"Well…" Buford began, getting in tune for his special Van-Stomm family song.

"Not now Buford." Baljeet hushed.

"What?" Buford asked, attempting to feign ignorance.

Baljeet was about to take Buford on another lecture when Isabella interrupted.

"Are we allowed to see you off?" she asked.

Ben nodded "Of course. I just gotta have George take you."

1st Lt. George Stanton was Ben's friend and fellow recruiter who was coincidentally awaiting his next assignment as well, but was just was also set to deploy in three weeks.

Kristin made her to the stage as the dismissal bell finally rang, releasing the students from their chains and, for the most part, giving them a taste of freedom.

"You ready to go?" she asked her boyfriend as she maneuvered herself past the group and right to his side.

Ben only nodded and smiled.

"Where are you two headed off to?" Baljeet asked.

"Well, this guy has to change before he has dinner with my parents."

"Sounds fun." Buford commented.

"Always." Ben muttered as he led his girlfriend off the stage.

"You aren't nervous are you, Benjamin?" Ferb teased.

"Oh, can it." Ben argued, giving Ferb a playful punch to the arm.

Phineas had taken a few seconds to press a button on a small remote of his, bringing the entire stage as well as the tables and other party supplies into a small box. He managed to catch up to Isabella who was more or less taking the conversation in, allowing her turbulent thoughts to carry her away and resolve themselves.

"Are you ok?" he asked, bringing her focus back to him.

"Yeah. Just…thinking." She answered.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Phineas asked, as they made their way through the nearly desolate halls of the High School.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I've been thinking about it too much, but something feels like I didn't do enough for Ben." She wondered aloud.

"Really? How so?"

"I mean, I've done everything I can for him. I helped you throw that big party for him, but no matter what I do, I still feel like I haven't done enough. I don't know what else to do." She groaned.

"Well, I'll have to take a cue from Ferb here, but I'd say you've done everything you can do. I think at this point you should probably trust him to go out and get home alright."

Isabella yet again turned to herself in hopes of resolving this new train of thought. What was she the most afraid of?

Was she afraid of Ben getting wounded in action? Yes.

Was she afraid that deployment would change him as a person? Yes.

Was she afraid of Ben forgetting who she was and the relationship that they had? Yes.

Was she afraid of him dying? Yes.

All of the questions she asked herself seemed to point to the only logical conclusion: She was afraid of things that were beyond her control.

Ben had always told her during one of their talks "control is the one thing that is easy to obtain and the hardest to let go."

He was right. It was hard to let go of the things she knew for certain that she could control like his health or his safety. Going to Afghanistan would change all of that. She could neither control those kinds of things nor could he keep him safe there. She had to essentially "let go" of her fears and those attachments. Ben was a grown man. He didn't need some 16 year old pinning him down. Was she to trust him with coming home safe and sound? She guessed the answer was that she had no choice.

"Aren't you worried at all about him?" she asked.

"I am, but worrying isn't going to do much for me, or for him." Phineas answered, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm scared, but I have to trust the fact that he can take care of himself. He's got the skills and he can handle any challenge. Plus, I bet he's worried about not being there for us too."

Isabella nodded. Phineas was right. He was right about a lot of things.

"I never thought about it like that." She agreed, "Thanks."

"Anytime." He smiled.

She felt a slight blush come over her face. As they came to the parking lot, Mrs. Flynn greeted them with her car.

"Hi Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher!" Isabella greeted.

"Hi Isabella! You need a ride home?"

"Sure!" she agreed as she plopped her stuff down next to Phineas.

As the car began to move, she noticed Ben in his car driving past them. He waved to them before making the right turn, slowly disappearing over the horizon.

She waved back, content with her decision. However a twinge of fear still struck her as she had to quickly answer -Fletcher's question.

Would he be ok?

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 **A/N: So? How did you all like it? Reviews! Chapter 5, the last chapter will be en route shortly. At the end of Chapter 5, I'll clue you in on the next story in the series.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello! As promised Chapter 5! I hoped you have enjoyed this story. It's a bit of departure from my norm, however, I've been enjoying writing these sweet moments. This story is actually one in a few chronological stories leading to an eventual Candace's wedding. So, if you would like to, stay tuned. As always, enjoy!**

 **A/N: As per usual, I DO NOT OWN _Phineas and Ferb_**

 **A/N: I DO OWN my OC's 1st. Lts. Benjamin Cho and George Stanton and Kristin Cruz**

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The weekend had passed them by as quickly as it had come. Ben hadn't had too much free time to spend with Isabella, or his girlfriend for that matter. The only thing that he really had time for was packing. So, he instead compromised, asking them to help him organize his things and prepare for his long journey. They had spent a good part of Saturday and a majority of Sunday packing and organizing, leaving a good chunk of their Sunday evening tantalizingly free. Ben had wanted to take them out to a movie. However, the tickets were sold out. This time it was Phineas to the rescue as he had invited the group, Buford, Baljeet, and the Fireside girls over to their house to view a screening of the "space and fantasy" movies that Ben had never gotten into. Regardless, he still enjoyed their company, chatting the night away. It was nice. It was calm. It was…normal. Isabella had thought the night could not get any better, but most of the fireside girls had already gone home to their parents. Isabella had gotten permission to stay the night at the Flynn-Fletcher house with supervision provided by Ben, who surprisingly agreed to the night at their house. They had set up camp in Phineas and Ferb's room, sleeping bags strewn haphazardly across the room. The rest of the boys had fallen asleep, after a few minutes of talking and snickering, before all of them had passed out. Well…except for Isabella, who's mind was still racing about things she wasn't able to do with Ben today. Sure she had spent a good amount of time with him. But, she felt as if there was something missing. Unable to fall asleep and feeling thirsty, she made her way downstairs, gingerly stepping over the sleeping boys. As she made it down the stairs she saw Ben, who was surprisingly awake, on the couch with his girlfriend asleep on his lap, wrapped in a blanket. He looked up to see her and beckoned her into the room, patting the sofa cushion next to his. Isabella gladly accepted as she carefully sat on the cushion, as to not wake Kristin.

"You're still awake?" he asked in a quiet, but audible voice.

"I could ask the same thing" she countered.

"Touché" he shrugged, allowing a few moments of silence to build before he continued, "But really though, what's on your mind, sis?"

Isabella shrugged, unwilling to give him her answer.

"Come on, you know we can tell each other anything." He pleaded.

Isabella sighed, "I'm…I'm just scared."

"And you don't think I am?" he countered.

"What? What do you mean? I thought you were excited?" she asked.

"I am excited," he began, taking a deep breath, "But I'm also scared. This thing, this place I'm going to. I've only done exercises and simulations. What I'm going to be doing is the real thing. There's gonna be real bullets, real grenades, and real blood. I'm scared that I may not make it home. I'm scared, but at the same time, I've also accepted the reality of what I'm going to do."

"How can you do that?" she asked, "How can you just stare death in the face without being afraid?"

"It's simple, I put my fear aside and focus on my job."

"But how? I've spent this entire week worrying myself sick over you! I haven't slept a wink!"

"Look at me." He ordered

She did so, straight into his hazel eyes.

"Izzie, sweetie, you can't worry about me."

"But why not? Why can't I be scared?"

"Scared of what?"

"Losing you!"

It took a few seconds for Ben to process what Isabella was really trying to convey. He nodded in understanding.

"You know I love you, right?"  
"Like a sister, I know."

"And do you love me?"  
"Like a brother."

"See that love? That love is something that no other person could take away from us. It's not exactly science, but I understand. I love you and I understand that this is taking it's toll. I understand that you're afraid and that you're scared that I'm not going to be around. I get that. Life has a margin of risk associated with it. Life itself is a scary proposition. But you have to trust me sweetie. Trust me that I'm going to do everything that I can to come home safe and sound."

"But what if you don't? What happens then? I…I just can't…" she began, tears welling in her eyes.

She felt Ben's arms wrapping around her, bringing her closer in his embrace. His hugs were always the best (next to Phineas' but she didn't tell him that).

"Then, we make the most of this hug last." He proclaimed, "Make the most of our time together. If I have to go, you celebrate my life the way I want it celebrated. Amongst friends and family. Don't be sad because I left. Don't be sad because the time you spent with me was too short. Be glad. Be glad that you knew me. Carry on my love for this country and my love for people with you." He paused, trying to fight his own tears as they threatened to burst out. "Just know that if something happens and I have to go. Just know one thing."

"What's that?" she sobbed, her voice in a dead whisper.

"I love you."

The next few minutes weren't filled with words, but with quiet sobs and whispers from the both of them. Their talk had ended with Isabella quietly sleeping next to Ben, who had wrapped her in a blanket. His girlfriend was now semi-awake, gently stroking her boyfriend's head.

"Are you going to be ok?" she asked quietly, "I heard some crying."

Ben nodded quietly. He saw his girlfriend smile and felt her lips on his cheek.

"Is she gonna be ok?" she asked, pointing to Isabella.

Ben nodded again, "I think she and I just needed that good cry. Help release those emotions, you know."

Kristin nodded, unsure of what else to say in the silence.

"Are you going to be ok?" he asked.

"I think so." She answered.

"Do you need to cry?"

She shook her head adamantly; "I'll save that for tomorrow."

Ben nodded, "You know I love you, right?"

"Yes, I know." She chuckled, as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Good. Wanna cuddle so I can actually get some sleep?"

Kristin giggled as she leaned against his shoulder, his arm around her shoulder as well. She liked this feeling, the feeling of comfort of warmth that he radiated. She was going to miss it while he was gone. She tried to enjoy it the best she could as his comforting warmth finally put her to sleep.

* * *

The house had erupted in a cacophony of beeps and other digital sounds as Ben's alarm had blared throughout the living room, causing the two sleeping girls on the couch to awake with a start. They saw Ben donning a new uniform. This new uniform was more of an autumn-woodland camouflage with a varying pattern and color with some browner boots, his toothbrush in his mouth. They took it as their cue to prepare themselves for the long drive to the base. Kristin had only managed to brush her teeth and do some make up and don a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before. Isabella followed suit as she piled into the car with Ben and Kristin, beginning their long journey up to the base. Isabella barely remembered anything from the car ride up. It was pitch black and she had begun to doze off. She managed to awake as the car slowly came to a gentle stop. She noticed that they had finally reached their destination. She had exited the car, trying to help Ben secure his hefty travel bags to his back. She was surprised he could carry so much, but realized carrying heavy armor for an extended period of time made carrying a few bags relatively easy, as she accompanied the both of them to a building where other men of all different shapes and sizes had gathered, their friends and families amongst them. The boys and George had arrived 40 minutes later. They gathered in a circle around Ben sharing a few last laughs before they were to move towards the plane. The walk went by faster than Isabella had liked it to, but by the time she had finished her thought, they were already where they needed to be. A few minutes later, they had already started boarding. Ben nodded as he began his goodbyes to the group.

He had a brief hug with Buford, but promised to get him something from Afghanistan. To which Buford nodded, but turned, unwilling to let his friends see the lone tear escaping his eye.

Baljeet gave him a firm handshake and wished him the best of luck and that he would send him some of his books to read.

Ferb had given a quick hug and a firm handshake.

"You best take care of yourself, Benjamin." He ordered sternly, his grip tightening.

"You got it." Ben smiled, ruffling his hair.

Phineas had given him a tight hug.

"Be careful Ben. I'll see you later." He smiled.

"I'll see you later. Take care of them, will you?"

"Yes sir!" Phineas proclaimed, eliciting a chuckle from Ben.

As he reached Isabella, he had shared a very tight hug with her, whispering words of encouragement and promises that he would call her as soon as possible.

"I love you, bro." she quivered, trying to suppress her emotions.

"I love you to sis" he smiled giving her another tight hug before moving on to George and Kristin.

"I'll see you over there, bro." he told George.

"Try to keep out of trouble" George joked.

Ben and Kristin shared an embrace and a few kisses.

"You'll remember to call me right?" she asked through the kisses.

"I will" he chuckled

"You promise?" she asked, unwilling to let him go.

"I promise." He smiled, giving her one last kiss before he picked his bag up and made his way up the stairs. As he had reached the top of the loading stairs, he turned to the friends who had gathered for him and gave them one last wave goodbye as he boarded the plane. They had waited a few more minutes as the plane had departed 30 minutes later, leaving a crowd of crying parents and loved ones. They made their way back to the car, an odd silence growing amongst them. They turned to the noise of jet engines powering up. They looked to the sky to see a large gray plane, the same one they had seen leave just a few minutes ago, blasting off into the sky.

 _I love you_ she had thought to herself as the plane disappeared into the great beyond.

 _I love you.  
_

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 **A/N: So? What did you think? Reviews! I'll see you soon!**


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